BALTIMORE — Seven years.
That's how long it's been since we've had October baseball in Baltimore. That's about to change—the Baltimore Orioles are inches away from clinching a playoff berth.
Maryland will soon host October baseball, and the fans could not be more excited; they have not seen playoff ball at Camden Yards since 2016.
At the Thursday night opener of a four-game series against the Rays, the team in the rear-view mirror in the AL East, you'd think it was already October.
Josh Frazier was at the ballpark the last time they won a playoff series, in 2014.
"It feels like that again. I came to ALDS games when they played Detroit; I came to two of those games,'" Josh Frazier, an Orioles fan, told WMAR. "To feel that again, and to see as many people as are in the stands is mind-blowing."
"It's so exciting," said Pam Golden, a Reisterstown native.
There's something to be said for that excitement—the excitement Baltimore baseball fans have longed to get back.
Orioles fans are over the moon—and rightly so. The young blue chips—Adley, Gunnar, fitting right in; the veteran talent, showing up in the way we knew they would.
Not to mention a treasure trove of prospects from a long and painful rebuild—top pick Heston Kjerstad was in Baltimore from the minors on Thursday.
"Probably the best rebuild I've ever seen of any team," said Rodney Rhodes, an O's fan. "We took advantage and kept those good draft picks."
"Unbelievable," said John Leahy. "After where we were two years ago, to where we are now, it's fantastic. You can see the city's alive again. This is beautiful."
Going into Thursday night, the Orioles' magic number—the combination of Orioles wins and competing team losses to clinch a playoff spot—was at four. To win the division, that number was 15.
